Redefining Normal: Thriving in Your Quarantined Home

Local Interior Design Margaret Wilson gives us advice on how to make the most of your living space while staying indoors.

“Interiors are more important than ever now” 

Through this incredibly trying time I have opened myself up to the idea of opportunity, and transition. I am encouraging others and myself to turn our attention to the smallest of things around our homes. That we may not have payed much mind to before life pushed us all to slow down. Pull those favorites to your bedside, or to your coffee station, when a momentary glance gives us pause to remember the larger view. 

Invite softness into your space 

Find great comfort in the softest of pillows, a nook, a special corner. Take a new perspective of your space and create quite reading areas or spaces for longer conversations. Rearrange the artwork. Move the furniture around to set a new dynamic for our new interim stay at home situation. A new perspective, even in art and furniture placement offers us pause to stop, and see that there can be a new and larger vision in life. Allow for fabrics and the positioning of the art and furniture to make statements in their softness. Pull out that sumptuous throw you have been storing and let it hug you and soften the space.. Take out those stuffed animals as they are talismans of comfort. Nestling on the sofa with your favorite blanket is now allowed. Finally give yourself the space and time to test out what feels best for you. 

Routines 

Maybe the spot you have your morning coffee in everyday was not optimal, it was just a product of routine. Take a step outside of your every day and ask yourself if you utilize your space in the ways you do because it feels good or because it is just “what you’re use to”. Change the routine. Now that spring is upon us, enjoy the beautiful days as part of your new routine. Take coffee outside. Set the breakfast table in the garden or on the balcony. Allow Mother Earth, the fresh air and sunshine to heal us and restore our angst and change the dialogue of the day. 

Mindfulness 

You may benefit from sitting down in that new relaxing space, adding some calming music, and turning your attention to your breath for ten minutes a day. Others may respond better to a more active form of mindfulness. Such as, mindful walking, spending time landscaping, working out, or yoga. Develop a mindfulness practice that offers a path to patience and calmness, time to create the space necessary for this practice. Mindfulness is like tidying up your home, instead you are tidying up your mind, while only keeping the things that serve your highest self. Allow the quietness of life to redirect your attention on things that make YOU feel good and centered in your beautiful home.